Movie Screening: The Good Dinosaur

With the hub bub of life, I haven't been able to take the time to watch all the awesome movies that have been coming out. Luckily I have really awesome friends and family that don't mind taking my place :p. Everyone please welcome the lovely Kim C. as she takes over as today's guest blogger!

"The Good Dinosaur" asks the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct?  Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo (voice of Raymond Ochoa) makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of.

©2014 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Initially when I saw the preview of Good Dinosaur, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it might be similar to a rendition of the Dinosaur movie back in 2000; I must say I was hugely mistaken. This was basically based on the idea that the meteor that eradicated all dinosaurs missed the planet therefore dinosaurs continued to live. It’s a heartwarming story about the relationship between a dinosaur named Arlo and a cave boy named Spot fighting through external forces of nature and surviving. My daughter also watched it and when I asked her to describe the movie, she said it took her on an emotional roller coaster but in a good way. 

I have to say one of the best things about this film is how realistic everything looked - from the shrubbery to the waterfalls to the movement of each character right down to the details of the Arlo’s skin and Spot’s hair. It was pretty amazing!  But that’s Pixar for you; they put in a lot of detail into all their movies.

Like a lot of animated movies, the humor is really set for adults but the kids seemed to enjoy it. There was a particular part that was made specifically for adults. It seemed like all the adults in the theater were dying of laughter including myself. My daughter on the other hand leaned over to me and asked, “What’s going on?” I’m not going to tell you exactly what happened but just to give you an idea Arlo and Spot accidentally ate hallucinogenic berries. It was pretty hilarious!

This movie is another great addition to the Pixar collection! Would me and my daughter watch this again? Absolutely!

 ©2014 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream (“Cars 2”), Disney•Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur” opens in theaters on Nov. 25, 2015. 

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Movie Screening: Disney's Maleficent

JAM and I got invited to attend an advanced screening of Disney's newly anticipated movie, "Maleficent". I can't say that I'm a wild fan of Angelina Jolie, but Disney hasn't really shown the villain's point of view so I was intrigued.  Disney made me fall in love with their movies once again with their last popular movie release of "Frozen" so I couldn't wait to see what they had lined up next. Here's a quick synopsis for you:

"Maleficent" explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.    

Disney has done it once again with this movie. Without giving too much away, I appreciate that Disney has gone back to their roots and has created movies that I feel will turn into classics. For being a movie about a villain, it wasn't as dark of a movie as I anticipated. It was a great balance between evil, action, and humor. However, I think that this movie is better suited for kids JAM's age (ages 6+) mainly because some of the action scenes can get a little intense for the wee ones. My BFF loves taking her nieces and nephews to the movie theater and I did mention that last year's "Oz the Great and Powerful" movie was a lot darker and scarier for the little ones in my opinion. So, if your kiddos were able to handle Mila Kunis' Wicked Witch character, then they'll be just fine watching "Maleficent".

Disney's "MALEFICENT"..L to R: Aurora (Elle Fanning) and Prince Phillip (Brenton Thwaites)..Photo Credit: Film Frame..©Disney 2014

It's been a long time since I've watched "Sleeping Beauty", but I do remember the gist of it all: Princess Aurora has fairly godmothers that care after her, but Maleficent puts a curse on her where Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle and put her into a deep sleep that can only be broken my her true love's kiss. "Maleficent" referred back to that whole aspect throughout the whole movie, but after looking back at the movie as a whole, this untold story was more beautiful and magical than you could ever imagine. It shows a side of Maleficent that I never knew about, and it tells the tale of the delightful relationship that Aurora and Maleficent actually had. Angelina Jolie did an amazing job showing the villain side of Maleficent, but also wore her heart on her sleeve when needed. You felt her pain, her happiness, and her determination. Her sarcastic quirkiness throughout the whole movie just made it all come full circle and was the icing on the cake to make me fall in love with her character.

Disney's "Maleficent"..L to R: Diaval (Sam Riley) and Maleficent (Angelina Jolie)..Ph: Frank Connor..©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Out of all the characters, however, JAM's favorite was Diaval, Maleficent's right hand man. He was a simple raven that Maleficent can change into a human or various animals with her magic. JAM loved watching Diaval transform throughout the movie, especially into a fire-breathing dragon. The coolest thing that I loved about this character is that even though Jolie's character changed this raven into various animals, it kept it's raven-like features so it was understood that it was still Diaval. For example, Jolie's character transformed Diaval into a horse. He had all the features of a horse but he was black in color, he had a feather-like texture instead of horse hair, and his head had distinct features of a raven. All the transformations were executed wonderfully and Sam Riley did a great job balancing out Maleficent's personality throughout the whole movie.

Maleficent opens nationwide TODAY! JAM and I both give it two thumbs up, and I already can't wait until this movie comes out on DVD. Go see it!!

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Have you seen it yet? Tell me what you think below! 

Movie Screening: Planes

If you haven't taken your kiddo to check out Disney's new animated film PLANES, you're definitely missing out! JAM and I got invited to a Press Screening for it in 3D and we absolutely LOVED it! I mean, honestly, who doesn't love a little bromance/underdog story?? Here's a little synopsis if you need a little background story:

“Disney’s Planes” is an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing—and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps Dusty qualify to take on the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar."

Just from the synopsis alone, I'm sure you can see a few similarities to Disney's CARS. However, you and the family won't be disappointed, trust me. This movie is definitely unique in it's own way. As usual, JAM was most excited to wear his cool 3D glasses once we arrived. Going in, JAM had already decided that Ripslinger was going to be his favorite character because he's the fastest, coolest, plane in the whole movie.

"PLANES" (Pictured) RIPSLINGER ©2013 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

Right off the bat, PLANES had us laughing, and that definitely continued throughout the whole movie. Dusty the crop duster, has big dreams of being an awesome air racer, but every sign is telling him that he'll be nothing more than just a smelly farm plane. Thanks to second chances, Dusty gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he was allowed to compete in the "Wings Around the Globe" tournament with some of the best air racers in the world! You get to follow Dusty on his amazing trip around the world as he makes new friends, conquers his fears, and has you on the edge of your seat as Dusty proves that everyone is made for excellence. As much as JAM loved Dusty's character, by the end of the movie JAM changed his mind and decided that El Chupacabra was his favorite character. He couldn't resists El Chupa's comical wit.

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Who was you family favorite?